The entire hockey world was hoping for a Habs vs Leafs first round matchup, but instead we'll get to see Montreal vs Ottawa. It may not have the history or bad blood that a Toronto series would've brought, but this is as compelling of a matchup that we'll find in round one. Let's take a closer loo

On paper, this should be a very close duel between Anderson and Price, but I'm going to focus on Price here because I think he is the make-or-break factor of the series. I know that's not ground-breaking analysis, but no one is quite sure what this guy is made of when the spotlight is on. He won a series in his rookie season, but nothing since then. He is often heralded as the best Canadian goaltender and praised as one of the elite. Can someone smarter than me explain how that happened? By my measure, I like to know what a guy can do in the playoffs before I declare him the best anything. Putting up nice regular season stats is nice for poolies, but I'm still not sure Price is the guy who can lead Montreal to glory.

The word from local reporters is that he wants to prove something to himself and his teammates this post-season, not the media or the fans. That might sound encouraging and a reflection of maturity, but to me that sounds like self-doubt. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ice Anderson is as cool as they come. The guy is in a great sitution right now. He led the league with a .941 save percentage and now gets to play the underdog role without any pressure. As the series unfolds, this could turn out to be the deciding factor.